Microwave Vegan German Potato Salad

I'm a fan of microwave cooking. You can do nearly anything in a microwave that can be done in an oven (with the unfortunate exception of certain baked goods, such as yeast breads, puff pastry, and pizza dough, among others), but with the valuable advantage of not heating up your house in the summer! The first vegan cookbook I bought myself was Nancy Berkoff's "Vegan Microwave Cookbook". It has scores of delicious microwave recipes that are easy on preparation and clean-up, making it right up my alley. Here's a filling and tangy potato dish that only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.

Vegan German Potato Salad
Ingredients:
1/4 Cup water
4 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and quartered (those are the little red potatoes)
2 teaspoons oil
1 small onion
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
(optional) 4 vegan 'bacon' strips, crumbled
1/2 Cup water
1/4 Cup vinegar



Preparation:
Place the potatoes into a 2-quart container, add the 1/4 Cup water, cover and microwave on high for 10-12 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the onion and cook the vegan bacon strips if you're using them, then chop or crumble them. (If you've never used Smart Bacon before, I highly recommend it. Tastes just like bacon; you can't tell there's no cruelty!) When the potatoes are done, set them aside.



Place the onions into a small bowl with the oil and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until tender. Stir in the sugar, flour, caraway, pepper, and vegan bacon crumbles if desired, and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir in the water and vinegar and microwave for 3 minutes or until thickened. (If it seems too runny, you can add another Tablespoon of flour.) While the onion mixture cooks, slice the potatoes in the bowl to whatever size you prefer - they should be soft enough. Pour the sauce over the potatoes, stir, and microwave another 1-2 minutes. Serve hot.



Enjoy!

Summertime Standards: The Veggie Burger

Burgers and fries are truly an American delight. While it's not the healthiest meal around, even vegans should be able to indulge every once in a while. This black bean burger is an easy dish to prepare in advance for a summertime cookout.






Vegan Black Bean Burger

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans, drained
  
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/8 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• few drops of hot sauce (optional)
  
• 1 slice stale bread
  

To Make

Mix everything but the bread in a food processor until well combined. Spoon into a bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight if possible. Crumble your stale bread in a food processor and add to your black bean mixture. Form into four patties by rolling each piece into a ball and flattening with your hand. Cook on a grill or saute in a frying pan on medium heat.

If you prefer a more beany texture to your patty, consider putting only half of the beans in a processor, adding the rest of the unprocessed beans to the mixture before refrigerating.

What do Vegans Eat?-Salad of Course!

Another very typical scenario when the topic of my vegan-ism is discussed with curious but clueless omnivores...
"You are vegan!? So what does that leave you to eat..... salad?"
This one always confused me. Why do people associate salads with vegetarians? I guess because of all the vegetables...but when I look around there are tons of salads that have meat, dairy,and eggs. Actually try and go somewhere with prepackaged salads like at a super market or fast food joint and pick up a vegan salad. I dare you. They are literally non existent. If you do manage to track down that ever elusive beast it will most likely look like this-
Don't worry guys a vegan would not call this a meal either!

I have heard many vegans say they don't like talking about salads because we don't want to give the wrong impression- that we subsist only on salad. However, I do like salads! I know many omnivores that like salad too! So I want to talk about my favorite salad fixings to make vegan, delicious and nutritious meals very unlike that bland water based concoction seen above.

I try and serve fresh veggies with most meals and one of the easiest ways of course is in the form of a dinner salad. Everyone has heard of that 5 colors a day rule right? Well I like to try and accomplish this as efficiently as possible by creating my five color salad!

(OK the stickers were not on purpose! Someone brought the stickers over the other night)
5 Color Salad

• Spring Mix or Spinach
• Red Cabbage
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Pears

The ingredients don't matter just be creative and try and combine as many colors as possible.

Here it is with the dinner we made that night- Pasta with spicy tahini sauce and baked tofu. My husband added the beer for his contribution.


Another Example? I went in search of an extra tasty salad to bring to an international student potluck and found this treasure. The dressing is literally to die for. Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. It is rich, creamy and hearty-like a good salad should be!

OK now lets talk dressings- Many store-bought dressings are not vegan. Many store-bought dressings also contain other not so nice ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and trans fats. My solution to this is to make my own! Here is an easy to make and super simple salad dressing.


(Once again whoops on the stickers!)
Grandma's Dressing-I am sure my version is nothing like Chris's grandmother's recipe. I asked her how to make it and she does not know the ratios or amounts. Grandmas are magical like that. Here is my best shot at it.

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic ( I use a garlic press)
• salt and pepper to taste

I added 1 table spoon of dried Italian herbs. Fresh mint goes really well in this.
Make sure you shake or stir before you serve!

Here is another salad I made along with this lasagna. This one is spinach with a lemon tahini dressing.


Eat your veggies! Golden~

Pizza Night!

My husband and I are obsessed with making our own pizza. We have made every kind of (meatless) pizza under the sun (ie breakfast pizza, enchilada pizza, lasagna pizza, mango chutney pizza... you get the gist)

Becoming vegan sort of took the wind out our pizza making sails. After some inspiration from the blog Ethical Pizza we made a vegan pesto pizza last night. I made the pesto myself. It was topped with a variety of mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes and shredded squash. It was super fun and very satisfying.


Does your family have a pizza night? Vegan or not, take out pizza is not a healthy meal. Making a pizza yourself is easier than you think and so much fun! We like to have friends over and have each person pick an ingredient for a truly original creation.

~Golden

Vegan Egg(less) Rolls

Eggrolls are a favorite at Chinese restaurants. Unfortunately, they are off the table for vegans. Some grocery stores sell eggroll wrappers to assemble your own, but rarely are they egg-free. With a little finagling of sticky dough, you can make your own egg(less) rolls at home.

That’s right, eggs are not necessary to make this deliciousness. Neither, of course, is a meat filling. Oh, and since I’m trying to be a little bit healthier…practically no oil is included in this recipe either! Yet they are still crunchy and flavorful. Why fry when you can bake?


Vegan Egg(less) Roll Wrappers

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ice cold water
• 3 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer
• 4 tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. salt

Sift your flour into a mixing bowl. In a food processor, combine your egg replacer and 4 tbsp. of water with your salt. Mix well, until light and frothy. Add to your flour, mixing with a fork. Add 1/4 cup of your ice cold water at first, continuing to stir. Add enough of your remaining water to make an elastic-y dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface (I use my cutting board, though it’s not totally ideal) for about 5 minutes. Cover your dough, and let sit for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, play a game of Scattergories. Look for meaningful shapes in your popcorn ceiling. Write a sonnet. Whatever you do, stay busy and keep away from your dough. Patience is a virtue.

Knead your dough again, making sure it is even and nice and stuff. Cut it in half, rolling each half into a cylindrical shape. Cut each log into about six pieces. Roll out each piece into a very, very thin square. You want it to be almost transparent when stuffed with egg roll filling. You can stack your wrappers on top of each other, but separate with a paper towel or sprinkle a layer of cornstarch in between.

Vegan Egg(less) Roll Filling*

Ingredients

• cabbage (2 cups)
• shitake mushrooms (2 cups)
• carrots (2)
• green onion (3)
• yellow onion (1)
• cumin (1 tsp.)
• garlic salt (1 tsp.)
• soy sauce (1 tsp.)
• cayenne pepper (1 tsp.)
• lemon juice (1 tbsp.)

*Feel free to be super creative with your filling. Sub parsnips for carrots. Throw in some black beans. Whatever you want–I’m not the one eating it.

To Cook

Dice up all of your veggies and saute in a wok or American style frying pan. No need for oil, your cabbage will have enough moisture. To keep it from burning, keep the heat on medium and move your veggies around a lot in your pan. See? It’s working. Season with rest of the ingredients and continue to cook until soft. Remove from heat.

Spoon a few tablespoons of your sauteed veggie mixture into the center of your egg(less) roll wrappers. Then wrap up your egg rolls, using your fingertips (dipped lightly in cold water) to seal the edges. Place on a baking sheet, greased with cooking spray. Add a little cooking spray to the tops of your rolls as well. (Spray is made from vegetable oil, but adds few calories to your dish). Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping over if needed.

Once they are done and crunchy and yummy, let them cool! Or they will burn your mouth and totally hurt.